Peter Hart has used his experience of pitching to create a portal for budding business builders to gain exposure to backers.
Back in 2011 Hart appeared on Dragons’ Den and was awarded with a £100,000 investment from panellist Duncan Bannatyne for his family business Fun Fancy Dress.
His new venture, pitchfor.it, allows entrepreneurs to upload video pitches and business profiles. Pitches are then categories and added to each businesses’ individual profile page.
The service has secured a number of high net worth individuals as potential backers including former Dragons’ Den investor Rachel Elnaugh and Confused.com founder Sara Murray.
Laura Thomas, founder of healthy lifestyle guidance business Happy Sugar Habits, has secured £10,000 through the site.
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Hart comments, ‘Having just about withstood the heat of the Dragons’ Den, I wanted to create a service that made it easier for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to potential investors and mentors.
‘The feedback so far has been phenomenal, with an esteemed panel of investors already lending their name to the concept in the hope of attracting top investment opportunities.’
Hart eventually turned down the investment from Bannatyne after the growth of Fun Fancy Dress, before due diligence was completed, doubled.
Other investors signed up to pitchfor.it include MyVoucherCodes founder Mark Pearson and 4Networking founder Brad Burton.
Elnaugh, also founder of Red Letter Days, adds. ‘I know from my own experience how difficult and challenging it is to create a business, especially if you’re starting completely from scratch.’
Pitchfor.it derives its revenues by charging entrepreneurs a fee to post videos on its platform. No deals are made through the service, it acts as an introduction for entrepreneurs and investors who then complete the transaction separately.
